Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2013 9:44:49 GMT

What a marvellous cover on that 1961 Crystal Palace programme. It's reminiscent of the cover designs of those pocket-sized football annuals of the same era.

I was six-years-old (just) at the time and it's a sobering reminder that coaches such as the one in the Woodside advert were considered to be the height of luxury at the time. That's buggered my memory of the 1960s as being an era of modernity. Mind you, that radio on another page looks more the business. And, good grief, we had a Parkray fire installed several years later. I wonder if the grandly-named South Suburban Co-operative Society also sold them in its'' many branches?

Crystal Palace Football and Athletic Club on the cover; Crystal Palace Football Club Limited inside. How curious.

Dick Graham gets a mention for working with Palace's youngsters. He was to become manager around a year later.

Something for Felix in the small print: Lindy Delapenha signing for the mighty Heanor Town. News too of the great Nelson Stiffle.

Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2013 15:34:51 GMT

I bet that cover picture had done business on the front of the Palace programme for years, with Palace's many different varieties of home kit painted in year by year.

Topically (well, it was last season), Palace manager Arthur Rowe had had to give up managing Tottenham, where he had been very successful, because of a stress-induced illness, and eventually the same thing caused him to have to quit Palace as well after a spell of sick leave. In his book about his father, Scottish international Stuart Imlach, Tour de France commentator Gar Imlach tells of what a kind and thoughtful person Arthur Rowe was, while Stuart found his replacement, Dick Graham, to be a madman!

Dick Graham was manager of Colchester in 1970 when they famously dumped Leeds United out of the Cup in the 5th round, but resigned later after being criticised by a policeman who had won some Col U shares in a raffle. Dick died in March this year at the age of 90. Nelson Everard Stiffle is no longer with us either but Lindy Delapenha is still living back home in Jamaica.